ISLAMABAD - Although there was no formal huddle of the apex court judges on the prime minister’s letter seeking formation of a judicial commission to probe the Panama leaks but the deferment of action on the letter by the Chief Justice could have been the result of some informal input from his senior colleagues.
The spokesman of Supreme Court of Pakistan yesterday came up with categorical denial of any formal meeting of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali with senior judges of the apex court on the letter of the prime minister when some private television channels reported judges’ moot on the matter.
Legal and constitutional experts commenting on situation said that though there is no time restriction on chief justice for dealing with the matter but normally the court responds to such matters at the earliest as the apex court is only engaged in a matter of national importance because of its impartiality, respect and acceptability among the stakeholders.
They said that ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had pushed the apex court in an awkward situation by unilaterally drafting terms of reference (TORs) without taking the other political stakeholders into confidence who had all rejected the government tailored TORs.
They said that in given situation when almost all the opposition parties have rejected the TORs for the proposed judicial commission. In this situation how the apex court would proceed further on the letter written by the prime minister a couple of weeks back, just a day before CJP’s departure on a foreign tour, they wondered.
The experts said that instead of dragging the apex judiciary into controversy the government should have first brought all the political stakeholders on one page on the nitty-gritty of the probe into Panama leaks, loans write offs and other irregularities done by the political elite in the past.
With all the opposition parties coming up with outright rejection of the government framed TORs and even putting into dispute the 1956 Commission Act under which the proposed commission was to be formed, the deferment of judges’ meeting on the matter seems to be wise and relevant.
Now in the face of evolving consensus among the opposition parties over the matter, the government seemed succumbing to the mounting pressure and criticism on the way it had prepared the TORs in haste and wrote to CJP to form a commission. It was in this backdrop that the prime minister a couple of days back had said that the chief justice could bring any changes in the TORs if required.
But legal brains saw it as mere rhetoric because the apex court could not prepare or alter TORs on its own and again the federal cabinet has to give approval for the same.
The opposition parties have announced to come up with comprehensive alternate TORs that they would not only send to the government but also to the apex court.
Some ruling party parliamentarians indicated flexibility on the issue and said the TORs already sent to the apex court could be readjusted in the light of the suggestions coming from opposition parties.